The Innocence of Evil : Chapter 1
---- As usual, sitting in this dumb chair, Lila was waiting for something to happen. She had been guided here earlier by someone said to be sent by Mr. Blanc, that had then left after asking her not to move. As the obedient child she was – well, only when the given orders were his, of course – she sat and waited, not knowing what he wanted from her. She remembered him mentioning, some time ago, an organization. Perhaps it was what was going to be discussed today? Chasing away these thoughts to keep her mind in check – mom said she couldn't trust the man yet, so she had to stay neutral and, who knows, some telepath might have been next door listening to her for all she knew – she glanced at her bitten nails with mock boredom, waiting for her mysterious fate. Lumi wandered the halls of NNER NK with only a spot of fear. Her uncle had promised her that no one would touch her but that didn't stop the idea that someone may be here to haunt her. Taking a deep breathe she cleared her thoughts. She had been here for a few months now, there was no need to be so scared of her own job. As she walked down the hallways she tried to remember why she was here anyways. Enzo seemed so happy about a newbie joining up, more so than normal. Lumi was never left to direct the newbies too due to her getting lost herself in this place. Lumi shook her head again and blossomed into a smile. She was thinking too much into this. Reaching for the metal door she struggled to open the door for a small while, it being metal made it impossible for her to open with a lot of effort put in. With a small grunt the door opened up and Lumi stepped inside. Too busy panting, Lumi didn't notice Lila yet. "Doors... too... much... effort," she muttered in between breathes. At the sight of the breathless child before her, Lila violently jumped out of her chair, letting it hit the ground with a loud metallic sound. She stared in dissapointment at the pitiful scene. Was that a joke ? Did he really send a child ? Why not an adult ? Was that a strategy to make her feel more safe here, surronded by other children – well, only one for the moment – similar to her ? She had openly stated to his face she felt more peace with adults able to understand her fully ! Children were such a pain ! Why would he send a child to get her ? Who was she even supposed to be ? Taking a deep breath, Lila tried to calm down. It could only be a test, there was no other way around. But a test for what ? Was he testing her partnership ? Her patience ? Was the girl important and requiring to be handled in some special way ? Did he want to shape them both through collaboration ? She had no idea. The best she could do was play nice until she figured it out. And so she did. Plastering on a fake smile and hiding all her animosity toward this failure of a good girl, she spoke with the friendliest tone she knew : "Are you the person sent to retrieve me ? I'm Lila Verrier, nice to meet you." Lumi almost screamed as a loud sound ringed inside the room. Jumping back she went to hide behind the door before peeking to see a girl. The chair laid on the ground and she sighed with some relief. She hated those damn chairs! Lumi gave a wave to the girl before her. She was older than her and taller but other than that, Lumi was almost confused why she was even here. She seemed like a girl she had bumped into in the corridors of her school. With a shrug she nodded to Lila as her thought process was completed and her falseness was pulled. Lumi, being so young, thought nothing more than genuine reactions." "Lumi's name is Lumi," she said in a child with her young chatter. It was clear she was younger and almost dumber in some ways. "Uncle Enzo told Lumi that you were here, Lumi is suppose to show you around..." she stopped for a moment before muttering under her breathe, "Lumi thinks anyways." "Wow, a weirdo," Lila thought, almost saying it out loud. She tried her hardest not to put on a poker face, but it was so hard she could already imagine herself getting stiff cheeks the next day from all the smiling. 'Lumi', as she called herself, didn't seem to pick it up so Lila figured out she wouldn't notice it at all if she kept on faking friendliness. Suddenly remembering that she mentionned Mr. Blanc being her uncle, Lila understood. So Lumi really was an important person... She guessed that Mr. Blanc wouldn't let his niece in anyone's hands, so it meant he trusted her on some level. Nice, she could work with that. "Okay, I'm right behind you !" she cheerfully said, bitting down the urge to cringe at her fake tone. It always was the worst part of pretending. Putting on a full act was so tiring, especially if it was for a child like Lumi, dumb and unable to tell anything out of a person ! Lila could bet she didn't even know how to read the atmosphere, one of the most basic skills ! How could Mr. Blanc's niece could be so incompetent, compared to the charismatic man ? She couldn't even let herself relax and let a few things that Lumi wouldn't see slip up, because there was a chance someone else was watching her every gesture to test her. This was going to be tiring, but it was what she signed up for, so... The clueless child didn't mind of Lila's constant spacing out form time to time. Maybe she was slow and had to take in a few things before replying to her. Lumi wasn't one to judge so it didn't bother her. Pushing the door open again, Lumi stood outside the room. Despite being underground the place was well built. The place was entirely metal but it was bright. Lumis' steps echoed as she walked. "Okay... Lumi will show you where everyone is," she said nodding at her statement. No point taking her where no one was, it's boring when it's quiet. "Great, more people," Lila sarcastically thought as she followed. At this point, there was no denying how different they were from each other, if not complete opposites. She almost sighed at the thought. The kid before her was clearly simple-minded, naïve and she could see glimpses of her crybaby personality. Sure, she was cute and seemingly kind and careful, but if that was all the girl had, it was going to be such a boring job. From what she could tell, Mr. Blanc wanted her to shape the girl into a person... well, like her, of course ! Intelligent, logical, distrustful, just manipulative enough to keep in control... In a few words, the perfect minion ! A wicked grin made its way across her lips at such a delightful perspective. There was nothing better than shaping someone stupid to be knowledgeful. Yet, a hint of sadness made her heart ache a bit. She knew how tainting someone's heart felt... but she couldn't let feelings get in her line of work. Mindless was a better word for Lumi as she hummed and skipped down the corridors. She reached a large double metal door with a panel at the side. She walked over with placed her hand on it. It took a few tries for her to perfectly place her hand on the panel but the metal doors opened up with a small whoosh. Lumi walked inside the main room where a large amount of computer laid. A few people rushed here and there but most had their eyes on screens. "This is the main hall where people look at others to find out what they are doing," she spoke of the stalking going on like it was the norm. "Uncle Enzo says it's important so others don't come in that are uninvited!" Lila, with feigned interest, eyed the screens on the walls. So she had been right, there were cameras and she was being watched. Some of them were even linked to the Académie, grainy footages of hallways and classrooms from corners she could remember having been suspicious of. Oh, mom would have been so delighted and proud ! She couldn't wait to report, at home, even if it meant been glanced down by Julie. Who cared about this excuse of a sister ? They were barely related after all. Not to appear any more suspicious with all her thinking – she knew that her whole thought process would often leave her frozen like a statue, the mind in some other place she only could reach – she graciously bowed to the adults in the room while introducing herself, letting just enough childish clumsiness in her stance to fool, yet just enough piercing gleam in her eyes so they could get through that she wasn't gullible in any way and could be dangerous if she wanted. Sure, it was kind of dumb, since they'd keep an eye on her after this, but what was a mission without a good challenge ? Well, the answer was obvious : boring and unworthy of any praise. And that wasn't going to happen. The room was cold and hard. The only mineral around was metal and a few lone chairs scattered next to desks. They didn't exactly look much better than the metal floor itself. Lumi waved at the people around her, almost like she was on some sort of stage the spotlight on the youngest and smallest actor. With a last smile she turned back to Lila and gave a rough explaination that this was the main room that connected all the rooms together. "Now do you wanna go left-" she pointed her left hand there, "-or right," she did the same with her right hand, ignoring the door behind them from where they left and a rather large door in front of them. "What's the most interesting ?" Lila asked, letting her boredom slip into her tone. She was quick to rectify herself by 'betraying' her curiosity in her deep green eyes, blinking twice at her young guide. Scratching her neck and casting an embarrassed glance to her side, she quietly uttered : "I mean- I want to see something big ! I thought there would be more impressive stuff in a secret base, like in movies !" To these words, she faced her interlocutor again, making explosion motions with her hands and villain faces as she resumed her speech. "Something like big machines that would revolutionise the world if they were to get out, but can't be discovered yet because the government would immediately take them over and use it for mean things ! I mean, isn't it the objective of every secret society ?" Then, she sighed, scared of having said too much. "Alright, I pick right, then." she said as she eyed the obviously, suspiciously ignored large door. Suddenly, as she was about to take her left, she jumped to the door's side and put her hand on the keypad. "But first, I want to know what's inside of this room !" Lumi simply laughed at her as she walked over to Lila. The keypad made a sound and glowed red. "Even Lumi isn't allowed in tere without permission from Uncle Enzo. It's the Key 7's offices," she said while reaching for Lila's hand and dragging her towards the right door. She hummed a song under her breath as she dragged her onwards and putting her finger on the keypad. The doors opened with no protest and Lumi went through the doors. Distasteful and spiteful flashes erupting in her mind like deadly bombs at the simple feeling of her hand grasped into another, Lila jerked away from the contact, clutching her trembling hand close to her chest. She stopped dead in her tracks and shot the younger girl an icy glance, conveying all of her resentment, disgust and... fear. Out of fright that she might have betrayed herself, she immediatly changed her expression into something less revealing and hid her features in her loose hair, never letting go of her own hand in the process. "Don't... Don't do that. Please. I don't like being touched." she quietly requested, biting down as much venom in her tone as she could, which wasn't much as she was burning with cold hatred. Then, she resumed her walk beside Lumi, keeping some distance with the girl while she focused on not having a mental breakdown on sight and preventing eye contact as she was experiencing distress. She would have slapped herself and the dumb kid if she could ! That was so... unprofessionnal, on both sides ! She had thought she overcame it... and still couldn't comprehend Mr. Blanc's actions... What had gotten into him, having her shape this good-for-nothing as a first mission in the organization ! How... despicable ! She couldn't help but silently fume at the whole situation. Category:Lila's Storyline